lux leathers: UNEARTHED cuffs

I may be late to the party, but I recently came across UNEARTHED on etsy + was immediately drawn to their amazing leather work.  The sister duo behind the brand handcrafts each piece in a small LA studio with the most insane list of raw materials - including ostrich, frog, snakeskin, alligator, crocodile, beetle wings, cowhide, pony hair, lizard + more. 

<<>>A note for my fellow animal lovers out there: the Koenig sisters only buy from reputable + responsible distributors, and most of their materials (like the stingray leather) are actually by-products that would have otherwise been discarded as waste. You can find out more info on this here.<<>>

 

Their philosophy is to never settle for ordinary, which compels them to take everyday items like lighters, flasks, business card holders, belts, pill boxes, compacts, etc. + turn them into beautifully crafted, unusual pieces of art.  Everything they make is gorgeous, but the real star is their insanely luxurious looking leather cuffs.

The style, texture, color + feel of each piece is so unique, it's impossible not to fall in love with one (or in my case, ten!).  Don't believe me? Check out a dozen of my favorites - which I chose out of almost 100 - and try to pick just one:

For the especially adventurous, UNEARTHED also creates limited edition bangles. This one features the taxidermied head + tail of the actual snake from which the cuff was made:

Totally insane or totally amazing, I haven't decided.  I do love unique + sometimes dark accessories, though I'm not quite sure I would go this far. But I'm not ruling it out yet. Maybe I'll start with something more low key, like a simple polished fuchsia stingray, and work my way up.

What do you think?

[all photos via UNEARTHED's etsy page]